THE ARTS OF OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA AND MELANESIA

Auuenau

Western Arnhem Land, Australia

1913ochre on bark4 ft. 10 2/3 in. x 1 ft. 1 in.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Untitled

1992synthetic polymer paint on canvas5 ft. 5 in. x 15 ft. 9 in.

Asmat bisj poles

Buepis village, Fajit River, Casuarina Coast, Irian Jaya, Melanesia

early to mid-20th century painted wood

ARTIST UNKNOWN, PAPUA (FORMERLY IRIAN JAYA)‘JAMASJ’ (WAR SHIELD)—CENTRAL ASMAT STYLE

Wood, lime, ochre, charcoal & sago leaf fibre141 x 65 x 15 cmRef# 27

The ceremonial Men's House, TamaranPrior to 1925other materialsNew Guinea, Sepik

Iatmul ceremonial men’s house

East Sepik, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

mid- to late 20th century

exposed interior of a ceremonial men’s house

Iatmul, Papua New Guinea

1953 - 1954b&w photograph

Elema hevehe masks retreating into the men’s house

Orokolo Bay, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

early to mid-20th century

Abelam yam mask

Maprik district, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

painted cane 1 ft.6 9/10 in.high

Tatanua mask

New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

19th to 20th centuries wood 1 ft.5 1/2 in.high

Canoe prow and splashboard

Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

19th to 20th centuries wood and paint1 ft.3 1/2 in.high, 1 ft. 11 in. long

MICRONESIA

Canoe prow ornament

Caroline Islands

late 19th century painted woodbirds 11 in. x 10 5/8 in.

Men’s ceremonial house

Republic of Belau

20th century

Dilukai

Republic of Belau

wood, pigment, and fiber1 ft. 11 5/8 in. high

POLYNESIA

Row of moai on a stone platform

Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Polynesia

10th to 12th centuries volcanic tuff and red scoria

Row of moai

Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Polynesia

10th to 12th centuries volcanic tuff and red scoria

Mele Sitani

Ngatu with manulua designs

Tonga, Polynesia

1967barkcloth

Staffgod (Tangaroa?)

Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Polynesia

wood 2 ft.4 1/2 in.high

Hair ornaments

Marquesas Islands, Polynesia

collected in the 1870sbone1 1/2 in.high (left), 1 2/5 in.high (right)

Tattooed warrior with war club

Nukahiva, Marquesas Islands, Polynesia

early 19th centurycolor engraving in Carl Bertuch, Bilderbuch für Kinder (Weimar, 1813)

Feather cloak

from Hawaii, Polynesia

ca. 1824–1843 feathers and fiber netting 4 ft.8 1/3 in. X8 ft.

Kuka’ilimoku

from Hawaii, Polynesia

late 18th or early 19th centurywood2 ft.5 3/4 in.high (figure only)

Wepiha Apanui

meetinghouse (view of interior)

Whakatane, New Zealand, Polynesia

1871-75

John Henry Sylvester

Portrait of Te Pehi Kupe

1826watercolor8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.

Te Pehi Kupe

Self-Portrait

1826

Clif Whiting (Te Whanau-a-Apanui)

Tawhiri-Matea (God of the Winds)

Meteorological Service of New Zealand, Wellington

1984oil on wood and fiberboard6 ft. 4 3/8 in. x 11 ft. 10 3/4 in.

Discuss the variety of styles found in Oceania by comparing the bisj poles from New Guinae, the maoi from Easter Island, the Kukailimodu from Hawaii, and the canoe prow from the Trobriands.

Asmat bisj poles

Row of moaiRapa Nui (Easter Island), Polynesia

Kuka’ilimoku from Hawaii, Polynesia

Canoe prow and splashboardTrobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

Consult your analysis template consider WHY a work of art is made in the first place (Visual Analysis 2), and the art works PURPOSE/FUNCTION (Visual Analysis 3).